Japan has renewed its territorial claims to South Korea's Dokdo islets in the East Sea in its annual defense review, amid strained bilateral relations over trade and historical issues. 

The Japanese government on Friday held a Cabinet meeting and adopted the 2019 Defense White Paper.

In the white paper, the Japanese government said, like last year, that "territorial issues concerning the Japanese territories of the Northern Territories and Takeshima remain unsettled."

Takeshima is Japan's name for the Dokdo islets and the Northern Territories are what Japan calls four islands in the Pacific at the center of a territorial dispute with Russia.

This year marked the 15th straight year for Japan to include its territorial claims over Dokdo in its defense white paper.